I remember the TV-movie The Death of Ocean View Park. Actually for a TV movie I didn't think it was that bad but not all that great either.

Oddly the last time I saw this movie was at my cousin's house on a local station in Virginia Beach back in the 1987. Just down the road pretty much from Ocean View.

My cousin who lived in Norfolk at the time they made both Rollercoaster and Death of Ocean View Park, I remember her telling me the park was already on its last legs at the time of Rollercoaster ( Kennywood I believe was the movie peoples first choice but that park turn them down ).

By the time Death of Ocean View Park was filmed, she was telling me the park was actually already closed and Playboy ( yes Playboy magazine made this movie for ABC ) actually had to bring in a few rides so they could re-open the park. That explains why there aren't any shots of the rides being destroyed other than the roller coaster and I believe an old parachute tower.

Back in the 70s I used to go to Norfolk's Ocean View quite often. Even in its run down state it was still better than what Virginia Beach had at the time. Seaside Park. That park didn't have a coaster but it did have pretty much everything else but Seaside had one problem. They HATED kids !!

Buckroe Beach across the water from Norfolk in Hampton at the time, they had a coaster but my parents refused to take us there saying it was in a "bad area" which is kinda of silly considering Ocean View wasn't exactly in the nicest part of town either. By the time I had my license and went to Buckroe ( 1986 ) only the coaster was standing and that was on the verge of being torn down. That coaster was actually smaller than Ocean View's.

But going back to Ocean View Park, that park was doomed anyway. The neighborhood ( and most of Norfolk at the time for that matter ) was going down the tubes. Plus I remember my cousin telling me that during the last few years of when Ocean View was in business, many people stopped going to the park because the feared the rides ( and the neighborhood ) were no longer safe. Sometimes I wonder if the people who owned the park regretted having their star attraction being featured in Rollercoaster? Plus I remember at the time hearing about some violent episodes that took place on the beaches near Ocean View too. Add those nearby seedy no-tell motels that existed at the time ( the 1970s ), none of which helped Ocean View Park.

At least the park went out with a bang and many people, even those who have no interest in roller coasters, well they still remember Ocean View Park thanks to that movie. unlike so many great parks of the past that have been totally forgotten by so many.

The only "bad" thing about these "closets" and "attics" is when you guys make updates mid-thread. Hard to keep track of the topics of coversation. Hence, my next reply to this otherwise AWESOME trend of coaster history, that's 4 topics prior to this message...(Confused yet, I am, I'm Polish AND blonde!)

Since when did Colossus run a train backwards? I missed this one!

"To the floor! The only thing that will hold you up when nobody else will!"

Hey, dont be knocking Colossus.....not too many places left were you can still ride double loop coasters with only lap bars....they seem to be a dying breed....was great to see the original Mister Twister at the # 3 spot, was such an amazingly powerful coaster, and of course, Texas Cyclone(RIP), still holds a special place in my heart!

The Mexico City Racer (aka La Montana Rusa) is a ride that had intrigued me from the moment I first read about it in Robert Cartmell's New York Times article, "The Ultimate Roller Coaster."

I immediately wrote to the builder - National Amusement Device – asking for information. To my surprise (I was a just a wee lad at the time ), NAD founder Aurel Vaszin responded with a letter (see below) and a number of brochures and photos. He also gave me contact info for NAD’s successor – IADI. That letter is included as well.

The photos that follow are from Vaszin and my own camera. I was fortunate enough to ride the Racer in 1989, before CCI tamed the ride’s excessive negative-Gs. Sadly, during the same period, they also butchered several of the six (!) beautiful NAD Century Flyer trains. Someone should pay dearly for that crime against history…

Enjoy this look back at one of the most impressive racing coasters every built.

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